Light in the Forum
by VenatorTerram
Summary: If there is such a thing as luck I do not have it. Being hunted by monsters for 6 years is not luck. Losing the only person that I had ever cared about is also not luck. She died taking a knife that was headed for the one point that could have killed me. Not like that could happen anymore. The Gods granted me the greatest curse of all time. (Turns into a murder mystery).
1. Introduction

Introduction

If there is such a thing as luck I do not have it. Being a demi-god is not luck. Losing the only person that I had ever cared about, is also not luck. She died taking a knife that was headed for the one point that could have killed me. Not like that could happen anymore. The Gods have granted me the greatest curse of all time. Immortality.

When the gods warned me that becoming immortal was not all it was cracked up to be, I should have believed them. Coming back to Camp Half Blood after the Titan war was so painful I wished for only death. Grief had shattered the thrill of victory. Tears fell from the ten survivors.

Grover heroically died grappling the Titan Lord of Time. Thalia was felled by the damn Hera statue. Nico, got consumed by his father and put into eternal punishment for defying him. The Battle for the Lobby killed the rest of my family, save 10 people who survived by pure fire. Clarisse, Connor, Travis, Will, and six others.

I found my mom's body on a pike at Auntie M's Garden Gnome Emporium. Not a coincidence. After Medusa's head brought my mom some minor satisfaction through killing Gabe. The small amount of happiness her head brought me, lingered no longer.

Since there were only ten demi-gods left at camp, I had decided it would be best if I try and leave the world of mythology behind. As an immortal, I can do everything which I couldn't do when I was a demi-god. Leave New York, find a quiet place and try to forget the demons that haunt this reality.


	2. Prologue

Greetings to all of you out there. On this website, I go by VenatorTerram. Though I go by many names. Not only is this a greeting, but a warning as well. The story I am about to tell is one of depression, anxiety, panic, and death. You should also be aware, that this is not a Percy Jackson story, but my own. Disguised in the characters of and plot of this unique universe. Though most unfortunately, Reyna does not exist here. Not in my world.

On a side note I have decided to include my own poems before each chapter of this story. Enjoy.

No.

I did not look up at the stars on my journey back.

But I sure as hell felt them.

Then, I knew I was no longer alone.

They were with me.

Green hues lit her face. The bridge around us was burning. Greek fire was let loose by Annabeth to stop the flow of monsters. Though it was too late. Gorgons, Hell hounds, and Enemy demigods surrounded us. Despite the odds, I was confident. Annabeth was at my back. It was a standoff. I closed my eyes, knowing that if they made a move that I would be able to sense it. Armor shifted behind me. Someone lunged at the small of my back. It was then the light of my life got a knife through her stomach.

"Sorry Seaweed brain, not going to make it out of this one" Blood filled her mouth. Preventing her from speaking. "Don't talk like that! You will be alright! I know you will." I whispered as Annabeth took her last break. Her last words were spit through blood. "Bury me with Luke."

Waking up from those dreams is a double-edged sword. Reliving the dreaded memories is one thing, but at least I don't have to deal with her spirit. Reality struck like a bat. Launching me out of bed. I was covered in sweat from shaking. Seattle greeted me through the window to my right. Shaking my head. Anywhere is better than New York. It's nice here though, because of the quiet nature of the people in my apartment.

I did not own too much. Not that my apartment could support it anyway. Smaller living spaces were easier to manage. Plus, I did not want to lose my last gift from the Gods. An enchanted pair of reading glasses that stopped me from seeing the creatures of the Greek myths. If only they stopped me from seeing her.

Reaching over to the nightstand to get my glasses I noticed a figure in the doorway. I quickly put my glasses on and looked at the doorway. Kinzie was leaning against the door with her arms crossed. I shook my head in disappointment. "Why do you keep breaking in here?" I asked. She ignored the comment and started yelling at me to get up.

"You! Awake! Now!" I got up out of bed still annoyed that she was here. Kinzie was the only person that managed to notice I was ever there. In the apartment, most people kept to themselves. Unfortunately, she noticed that I was not leaving my room at all. Thinking I would be able to lie low for a couple of years and just rest was a mistake, particularly if she was my neighbor.

After realizing that I did not have any food, dishes, or appliances of any sort she basically moved in with me. Cooking for me and buying stuff to "entertain" me. A week ago, she filed a job application for me at the Amazon Company. The company manager called Kinzie and asked me to come in to work. Which did strike me as odd, I did not need an interview or prior work experience.

I got up and got dressed. She had laid out the standard Amazon uniform which was orange for some reason. Getting dressed was a little bit of a struggle. Then again, before Kinzie I did not even move for several days out of the week. Kinzie called me into the kitchen. Without too much difficulty I found myself in the kitchen. On the round counter, there was a plate of scrambled eggs with toast.

She grinned as I ate. Any time she smiled I was instantly on guard. "Kinzie what did you make for me?" I asked. She looked at me questionably as this was the first time I had ever spoke to her. "Why I made egg surprise." My fork dropped to the plate and I moved my right hand down to my pants pocket slowly. After living in the world of monsters for a long time I was very suspicious of her actions. So far, so good. She did not notice my hand gathering around my pen.

I uncapped the pen with my thumb and the cap fell to the ground. Before the click sounded of the plastic against the tile rang, I was pulled into unconsciousness. The _surprise_ seemed to be too much. Though I was not totally unaware. Kinzie's laugh gave me chills as I faded into another nightmare.

Her lifeless body was at my feet. Red clouds blurred my vision. I sprang into action. Nothing could stop my revenge. Nor could I ever forgive her. Only one thought was in my mind and it was murder. Monsters cried out fleeing the battle. Soon, parts of monster flesh lined the ground. Demi-god innards soon joined them. Tonight, this war would end.

I woke up in a white washed box. It reminded me the time I spent in Hades' Palace. A collar surrounded my neck. What a joke. I pulled the collar off me and ripped it to pieces. The laugh started small, but my demon coaxed out of me and it became a psychotic laugh. One that made even me shudder. These white walls would be decorated with a nice red as soon as I got my hands on Kinzie.

White walls on all sides and no doors or windows. They don't know who they captured. I sat down on the floor and sent my senses out to all sides. Water was close to me. The sweet sound of it soothed me enough to grant me access to my immortal powers. A water pipe was directly beneath were I was sitting.

My will drove the water to break from its container and rise. Clear water rushed through the floor and surrounded me. Filling up the box. The water level continued to rise as I just sat with my eyes closed. The ocean has always been my father's domain, but as an immortal, I have control over all water. It heals me and sooths my pain. After the box was full I spiked the pressure up. The walls cracked and broke.

When the walls fell, I quickly took in my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was how dark it was. This place was quite dark, though there was some light very far away. I could hear humming of machines. I willed the water to bring me the light and as the water moved I noticed how it needed to go over objects at a regular interval. Perhaps I was in the Amazon facility.

Before my water reached the light, the overhead lights turned on. On instinct, I surrounded myself with water while I was blinded. A good thing too. Spears had attempted to penetrate my bubble of water. Now that I could finally see my surroundings, took a moment to take everything in before identifying the threats in the room.

I was in a large underground cave. Conveyer belts were placed in regular intervals all around me. They seemed to go on for miles. The overhead lights were hanging from a simple industrial chain. My main threats were a row of armored women. Ten of them, all holding golden short swords. I could see Kinzie standing in front of the other women. She was dressed in a bronze armor with a simplistic Greek helmet.

My grin spread across my face. There would be no stopping my revenge, but I could have some fun now. I waved at her. She returned my grin and asked, "How was your first day at work?" I started to advance slowly. "Killer". The blood drained from her face. Power started exploding from my body. The ground shook with my fury. Wind blowing on my face reminded me of a storm. Water flowed freely throughout the facility. Shaking and trembling with power I laughed until darkness consumed me.

When I woke I was covered in dust and rubble. Remnants of conveyer belts and products lay scattered. Blood however was not on my hands. Kinzie was on the ground with her spear and shield beside her. Her eyes were empty, the result of witnessing that kind of power. I contemplated taking my revenge. It would be so easy to finish her now. Though, why should I? She had no power over me.

I walked away, leaving the amazons behind. Most of them were seriously hurt, fortunately none were killed. They should have left me alone. Exiting the facility was not difficult. The elevator broke so I had to ride water to the top. Once I got to the ground floor set of doors I pried them open. The doors made a ding sound as water rushed the lobby. The receptionist was clearly distraught. "I believe you have a leak" I said.

It was late at night in the heart of Seattle. Nobody appeared to notice me on my way back to the apartment building. During the walk a package flew past me. I turned around and saw that the package was hovering in place. Great, on top of everything else Kinzie forgot to keep my glasses with me. The package followed me all the way back up to my room.

I broke the lock to the door and pushed it open. There was a blonde girl sitting on the counter. No doubt that it was Annabeth. "Well I guess someone up there likes you Seaweed brain". She casually jumped off the counter and started to rub against me. Shaking my head, I turned around to ignore my delusion. The package floated into my hands. Perhaps it needs to be opened. "Why are you ignoring me Percy?" she whispered in my ear.

My mind is a horrible place. To compensate for the lack of company and anguish it made _her._ It will be a while before I will be in an alright state. These images of Annabeth only serve to make me feel worse about all that I have done. The fates knew that I would wind up on this path. The luck of my name seemed to just be another cruel joke for the Gods. Now that I was pulled back into this world of monsters, this pain would not leave me. My suffering would continue.

The box read "Hermes Express Mail". At least it was not an Amazon box. While opening the box my hands started shaking. Annabeth was hugging me and peeking over my shoulder. Inside the box was a smaller, more ornate box. The primary color was blue, but it had a nice gold trim. The design seemed almost familiar. I took a step forward with the box in my hand, stepping out of the embrace of the monster.

I opened the box to find that it contained a letter and a coin with an Owl in the center. On the front of the letter my name was printed in cursive. My hands shook as I opened the letter. It read.

"Dear Percy,

I know what you are going through is tough. The gods feel like a hero should not be

disgraced with an immortal life of sadness. The gift that we gave you has only brought

pain and suffering since the end of the Titan War. We are offering a chance for you to

change it all. You will have a single week of mortality where you must find another

camp for demi-gods. If you become their leader you will be granted immortality again.

Not only that, but you will meet the purpose that was the reason behind your immortality.

-Athena

PS: I know you loved Annabeth dearly and I thank you for honoring her final wishes. Her burial with Luke won't go unrewarded. I made Aphrodite swear on her immortality that you will find true love at the new camp. From now on you will have my blessing for the rest of time."

Tears streamed down my face as I read the letter. I found that I could not breath. My breath struggled to reach. The building started to shake. Caught up in my reading I did not notice that Annabeth disappeared and Kinzie had entered instead. Her presence did not change anything. Shaking still she hugged me. I could only tell by seeing. Feeling nothing and hearing nothing. She was speaking, but her words were lost as I was drowning in panic. Too many things were happening. I was whimpering, then darkness.

Somehow, I knew this would be my divine fate. Struggling to live, breath, or even think about the outside. This apartment was my safety. Why does this happen? What curse is this that I can't even think about my past without having a panic attack? It did not matter. Athena gave me hope. Love sounds nice. A chance to change it all huh? Who would pass that up?

Opening my eyes, I found myself in a different apartment. Kinzie was in the room packing bags. She saw me wake and gestured for me to get up. I felt odd. I could feel things again. My shirt was in tatters, but the cool air felt amazing. Her bed was kind of comfortable, but I had a job to do. "Where are you headed?" I asked. She did not say anything, but glanced at the letter. I understood, then again, where else would she go? I destroyed her only source of work here.

It became clear to me that she knew where the camp was. Without worry this time, I joined her for breakfast. Unfortunately, trusting her to make food was a bad idea. Almost instantly after eating I collapsed.

Instead of waking up in the Amazon facility in an orange jump suit my surroundings were much less pleasant. I was on an aircraft. Kinzie was seated to the right of me and she smiled at me as I stared unpleasantly at her. My sigh was quite audible. "Next time just tell me your plans. You did not need to knock me out again". My temper was close to blowing. I explained carefully that Zeus promised to blow me out of the sky the next time that I was in an aircraft.

After learning that fact she facepalmed. "Well, talk about a problem. At least the flight is almost over." I looked out the window as the California landscape zoomed below me. Quickly, I poked my head over the seat looking for monsters. That was not what I should have been looking for. A lightning bolt hit the plane followed by the roar of thunder. I swore and grabbed Kinzie. She was on the verge of panic. I did not blame her in the slightest.

Time to hope the gods were watching I thought. The hole in the plane was large. It also appeared that the wing was damaged. The pressure inside the plane rose. I stood up holding my breath. Kinzie was holding my hand hoping for some sort of plan. Today, she would not be disappointed. Indicating we needed to get up she moved to get in the isle. Swiftly, I picked her up and ran to the hole. I jumped.

I closed my eyes for a second and then opened them. We were falling at a fast pace there was not much time. I focused hard on a landing spot and saw a pool in the distance. I willed the water up towards me. Thankfully, the water complied and became a sturdy pillar. The fall continued, but we were being enveloped by the large pillar of water slowing our fall. "Kinzie whatever you do, don't let go of me." She did not say anything, but maintained an iron grip on my back. The pillar slowed our fall enough to where we would not be any danger landing in the pool.

I released the water and we fell into the pool. I released Kinzie, much to her dismay. The pool was not so much of a pool as it was a hot spring. Steam rose from the undisturbed water. I launched myself out of the water and landed on my feet on the edge. My clothes dry from my power. Leaving Kinzie to struggle with wet clothes and swimming to the edge of the pool was good enough pay back for me. She more than deserved it.

My ADHD kicked in as I started noticing the movement around me. I closed my eyes and heard armored presences approaching. Riptide was in my hand instantly, but I put it away as I identified that the people were demi-gods. The first two armored people were behind me. Their charge indicated to me that they were not going to play nicely. I concentrated on the water in the pool and summoned my power. The water raised and condensed into a ball. I launched the ball into the air and let it drop. I stepped forward a couple of steps as their charge continued.

Looking back at the people charging me, their eyes were regretting their choice. The charge would have been effective with all their armor on, but since they needed to stop the armor worked against them. They tried to slow down. It did not work. They reached where I was standing previously as the ball of water landed knocking them down and washing them into the pool.

Another two armored opponents appeared in front of me. They did not seem to be in an attacking mood. They stood together with shields raised. I put my hand down indicating that I would not use my power. The two men looked at each other and then parted. A woman was standing behind them. "Welcome to Camp Jupiter son of Neptune. What brings you here?" she asked. "My name is Percy Jackson and I seek to become your leader".

"Could you please assist my men? They were following some poor orders from another camper." The woman stated. I obliged her, spitting the two men up onto the side. Kinzie gave me an angry look as I flashed her a quick smile. The woman was clearly beautiful. Her long black hair was perfect. The purple cloak she was wearing was a bit too large, but she was still attractive. I offered my hand for a friendly hand shake. She accepted it. "Percy Jackson" I said. "Reyna" she returned a bit cautiously.

I cocked my head to the side a bit in thought. Why was she so cautious? Reyna read me like a book. "There was a guy named Percy that attacked the spa I was working at. That was not you, was it?" I nodded. "Unfortunately, that was me. I was turned into a Guinea pig and my friend rescued me." She sighed.

Kinzie then announced her presence and asked to be escorted out of the camp. Reyna obliged. I was not sorry to see Kinzie leave. She was more of a loose cannon then I was. "Percy, it turns out we are in the need of a leader. If you can tell me your story, then I may be able to help you." Why not?

We walked around new Rome as I told my story to Reyna. Her escort consisted of two mechanical dogs. Both were fully covered in a bright metallic sheen. One was gold and the other was silver. She did not bother to introduce me to her dogs so I did not ask their names. An interesting change from two men to two dogs. I guess she wanted to be the only one who heard my story. Reyna listened quite well and even looked like she understood most of my feelings. It was a great relief having someone listen and understand my story. I described the titan war, the death of my friends, family and concluded with the events that led up to the flight.

She gave me a curious look. Then she burst into laughter. "Well we could use another leader and you would fit the bill quite nicely. In fact, you can have it now. I declare Percy Jackson Son of Neptune Praetor of New Rome." My blood shifted. I could feel that I was changing. Reyna caught me as I blacked out again. This time dreams followed. I was in Olympus, specifically the Chamber of the Gods.

All the gods were there. "Percy Jackson, you have completed your quest on day one. You have also met the one you will come to love" Zeus said. "For completing this, despite my best intentions, you have already begun changing back." Poseidon gave a hard glare to Zeus as he said this. "Your immortality will return and you will need it, because there is one more thing you must do. Find the one who murdered my son Jason Grace."


	3. Chapter 1: Dual Duel

Chapter 1: A Dual Duel

* * *

Steps to Order:

Step 1 – Follow a routine that is familiar. If you do not have a routine that is familiar make one.

I went about my morning as I did with Kinzie the day I left my apartment. Following my procedure, wake up, take a shower, get dressed, cook breakfast. The shower was interesting as the symbols to control it were, of course in Latin, for hot and cold. Thankfully it was not that hard to understand. One label was blue and the other was red. There was no lever or any other visible operating objects so I pressed my hand against the blue symbol and cold water began pouring out of the shower head.

After the conclusion to my shower, I realized there was a pack of jeans and a purple "Camp Jupiter" t-shirt was folded nicely and placed on the door knob. While getting into the clothes I realized that the jeans were way too small for me. They must have been Reyna's set of clothes. The t-shirt was too small of me as well. Frowning I realized I have no clothes to my name besides the damaged and ruined set of clothes I wore the day before. Of course, the underwear I had on was still mine. So, all I needed was another set of jeans and a t-shirt.

Grabbing a towel to put around myself, I ventured out of the bathroom. I needed many pairs of jeans and many t-shirts if I am going to be the new leader of camp. Stepping carefully as to not wake Reyna, I walked over to the nightstand and opened the drawer. I thanked the gods, because there was a pair of jeans my size and a purple t-shirt with another ornate gift box like the one I had received back at my apartment. Quickly going to the next step of my routine I made breakfast and an extra serving for Reyna. Making me the leader of New Rome in one night must have had its consequences.

Reyna woke up soon after I finished making my cut and dry scrambled eggs with toast. She thanked me for cooking her breakfast and asked me to look away as she went to the shower. I obliged and turned away focusing my attention on the cookware I had just used. Focusing my power to quickly clean the dishes to put them in their proper place. Not long after I was finished Reyna came to the counter and ate her breakfast quietly. I had long since ate my fill, so I turned my attention to the second ornate box I had received.

A simple pull and the box opened to reveal another golden coin with an owl on it and an unopened letter with Percy in cursive on the front. The letter read:

"Dear Percy,

Your trials are not yet over, finding Jason's killer is VERY important, because he will destroy

New Rome. If you ever need to contact me directly, just hold my Mark for ten seconds and then

say your message.

-Athena

Steps to Order:

Step 2 – Identify all objectives in order of importance and completion date. Then think about what you need to do to complete said objectives. Complete objectives.

Starting out, I need to find Jason's killer. Without evidence of Jason's murder, I cannot even begin finding out who they are. Also I if Jason was the leader of New Rome he must of done well with a sword. "Since I am the leader of New Rome is there any way that I can get some sword training?" I asked Reyna. "Sure, in fact I need to take you to Circus Maximus anyway to test your skill with the sword" She got up and I took her dishes and put them in the sink. We both left the praetor's housing and walked the path to the arena. I saw Annabeth sitting on a bench with her laptop. She was making a 3D sketch of the buildings.

Reyna led the way to the equipment section of the arena and offered me some armor and a shield. I refused both as they would just serve to slow me down. Ever since Tyson died I would never use another shield. "There are a few rules that you have to obey in the arena. Particularly for the Sword Skill Test. Rule one is no using your godly power against your opponent. Rule 2 is no killing. Rule 3 is listen to the referee at all times they will call the start and end to the fight." she said standing in the doorway to the arena.

She moved out of my way as I entered the Circus Maximus. This was the small of the two arenas that were in New Rome, but it was still grand. The archways around it were beautifully carved with grey stone. The sand in the main pit was flat and course so it held my weight well while still allowing me to dig my feet into the ground if the need arose. There were a set of stone bleachers that surrounded the pit. Carved to be perfect with a slight lip in them to make the seating more comfortable.

The sun was glaring down hard. A skinny man wearing a large amount of armor bearing a long sword approached. I pulled out Riptide and gave him a winning smile. I looked around and saw Reyna wearing her standard purple cloak and armor bearing a whistle. She shouted over the crowd of people "This is Percy Jackson Son of Neptune, here to prove his worth for the Praetorship. He is fighting Octavian eighth legacy of Apollo also here to prove his worth."

Octavian turned and called out to the crowed "Let us not forget that Reyna has yet to prove her worth either, I believe that she should be fighting Jackson to be Praetor!" I laughed. "Octavian are scared to fight? We should just get this over with." The match started as soon as the taunt left my lips. He went for a cheap shot for my head, unfortunately for him I was ready. The stance I was in allowed me to match his strength with ease. My sword met his overhead strike as he looked vexed that I did not die in one stroke.

The sun started to fade a bit all around the arena. Slowly, the sunlight that faded reappeared in a focused beam on me. My head started spinning as I remembered the fight I had with Hyperion. The titan could fry my armor and skin with his attacks. Octavian had nowhere near the strength of a being like the titan of light. My opponent underestimated the power of a hero. I simply ignored the vast amount of focused light and rolled behind Octavian. His beam of light followed me. The arena turned gold as the beam temporarily passed over my armored opponent.

He was blinded by his own beam, but it would not last long. Thus, began my flurry of strikes. Left, right, overhead, bottom left to top right, and repeat. Octavian could not cope with the sheer number of blows in such a short time, nor could he even see my sword. He stumbled managing to parry the first two strikes before my blade clanked against his armor. Wanting to get a quick end I butted his head with the hilt of Riptide. Reyna blew her whistle with a very smug expression that made me smile.

The sun returned to normal. Cheers rained down as the crowed was a bit shocked by the swift defeat of Octavian even when he cheated. Alas, combat was not yet over. The next opponent entered from the same archway I did. A built archer wearing minimal armor followed closely by a girl wearing a much longer sword then Octavian. Reyna then dropped down from the Referee position on the lip of the arena.

Joining my side, she called out to the two others that just walked into the arena. "Frank and Hazel, are you both ready to start the fight?" Both raised their weapons over their heads. A smile had become plastered on my face. So far I have not had much of a challenge, but two verses two will probably last longer then Octavian. Reyna looked at me and I winked at her. She returned the wink and blew her whistle.

Frank immediately loaded two arrows onto his bow and released. I pivoted my left foot forward and waited the split second I needed to see the flying projectile. The shaft was directed at my head. Seeing the spot the arrow would hit I carved a slash to meet the projectile in mid-air. My right facing slash met the projectile perfectly. The blunt arrow was carved in two. Reyna simply sidestepped hers and gave me a quick smile. "Show off" she taunted. I shrugged realizing that she was correct.

More arrows took me out of the conversation as I was forced to take a step back to get a marginal increase in my reaction time. Frank was a machine gun of arrows. Whenever I cut one down another would appear. Hazel made her advance at a breakneck pace. Going directly for Reyna. I figured she could take Hazel on easy, so I slowly started anticipating the arrows in advance while stepping in an unpredictable pattern.

Stepping to the left allowed me to dodge another arrow, but the pace of the arrows only increased on me because he could not risk shooting Hazel when she was engaged with Reyna. Whenever I saw an arrow headed in my direction, I advanced knowing I would have a second to react and another arrow would not be immediately behind another. He was looking increasingly panicked as I advanced, and I did not blame him. By the time I had gotten three steps away the number of arrows I had dodged or deflected was ludicrous.

This zone was the most dangerous for both of us. Three steps away I would have almost no time to react. The only choice I had was to read the trajectory of his bow by sight and hope that I was correct. He could only fire about two arrows when I advanced. If they did not hit, then he would have lost. Instead of shooting at me however he aimed over my right shoulder and fired at Reyna. My reaction time kicked in and I sliced the arrow before it went over. Unfortunately, I did not realize that he was concealing another weapon. A dagger was strapped to the back side of his belt. He took a step forward to stab at me. It was a good move because my sword was at the upper right position and would take about a second to come back down.

The gods were smiling on me as he tripped in the sand and landed face first by my feet. A simple fluke allowed me to get the advantage. Instead of pointing my sword at his not prone body, I reached down and pulled him up. Brushing the coarse sand off his armor. Opponents this good should be respected I thought. I offered him a handshake, "My name is Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you!" He gave me a friendly smile and shakes back. "Frank Zhang. Nice to meet you too!" We shook and directed our attention to the girls that were fighting.

They were dead even as far as sword play goes, but Reyna was armed with a dagger while Hazel had that strange long sword. Each traded many strikes, but it seemed as if Hazel was pressed to defend a lot more than Reyna, due to the sheer speed of her dagger. It was mind blowing how fast the two of them were fighting. Reyna to press her speed advantage stepped into Hazel's guard. The longsword had a huge area where it could hit. The length of the sword was pretty much only good given the user had a range advantage, however once Reyna stepped inside and started a proximity attack Hazel couldn't defend very well.

Her sword needed space to get a full velocity attack. Not to mention it is much harder to block against a shorter weapon in such a close range. Reyna used her left hand to grab Hazel's right and stopped the rest of the horizontal slash while moving her dagger to Hazel's exposed neck. Hazel seeing defeat quickly surrendered. Stepping back a whistle was sounded by another referee who had taken Reyna's place. The battle was over and the result clear as day.

Percy knew that Frank was good at archery, but could probably not match up well against the Son of Jupiter due to the control of the air. I made a mental note that Frank is most likely not a suspect I should be worried about. Hazel however was very good with the sword and could have been a match against Jason. Regardless I was eager to find the arena records to show who went against Jason and how many times.

I started to exit the arena, my sweat was dripping down across the sand as I made my way to Reyna. She ran towards me and tackled me in a spectacular hug. Thank the gods for having exhaustion turning my face red already. I looked at her in surprise and she broke off contact having achieved what she wanted. "Percy that was dead brilliant!" she spoke quietly. Laughing I replied "Yeah that was definitely a fight to remember, now I am all sweaty though" She walked with me to the equipment room. Stopping along the way only to check if Octavian suffered any major damage. She took his pulse and found that he was still ticking. In the stone equipment room, there was a door to my right labeled "Male's showers" I started towards it when Reyna poked me in the back and said "Meet me here directly after okay?" Nodding, I continued my way towards the door.

Before entering the shower, I made sure my clothes were sufficiently clean and nobody else was in the showers. Seeing the all clear I took the shower at a breakneck pace. Just after putting my clothes on I saw a bottle near the entrance to the shower room. It was quite a large entrance that was not all that clean, but regardless something like a broken bottle was worth looking at. The bottle top half of the bottle was left with some jagged parts of glass laying around it.

Carefully inspecting the bottle without touching it, I read what I could find on the green bottle. There was no label only a black sharpie reading only "Pit". Clearly more words were intended to be on the bottle, but I suspected that it was not deodorant that was contained in this bottle.

Instead of investigating further I left the Men's showers and found Reyna who had just recently taken a shower sitting on one of the stone benches. Her gaze was fixed on a very particular locker. I approached slowly and moved my hand in front of her vision. I broke her daze and she blinked twice before looking at me and changing her mood from disgruntled and confused to happy.

In the corner of the room I saw the book that was my reason for coming to the arena. It was the fight records. While Reyna was still lacing up her combat boots I took the time to search the book. The records contained within stated that Jason had 48 fights in his record. Most of them were against Nico Di Anglo and were recorded as "private duels". Several were against Frank, Hazel and Octavian. Only three were against Reyna.

Nico knew about this camp the whole time? It does not matter now. Most people do not die in such a horrific way as Nico did. Being soul consumed by your father is dreadful. But it does make me wonder why Jason would fight Nico as many times as he did. I closed the book just after Reyna got her boots on lock down.

"Where to next miss?" I asked. "Well, fighting does definitely stir up one's appetite. Would you accompany me to lunch?" Smiling I gave her my hand as we walked together to the Forum to have lunch.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** Currently looking for an active beta reader. Will receive full credit to the story and will be listed on every chapter they Beta read. Whomever applies must be okay with blood/gore as well as the willingness to let me bounce ideas off them.


	4. Chapter 2: Forums, Forms, Formations

Chapter 2: Forums, Forms, Formations

* * *

When we arrived, there was not many areas where we could go since the crime scene was in the main Forum. The stone streets and beautiful shops were heavily populated since the main part of the Forum was closed off. The lamp posts contained within the forum were shinning regardless of the time of day, this caught my interest so I asked Reyna about it. She told me that a long time ago when this camp was first founded they had spirits that would sustain the lights. If Rome is remembered these lights would still shine. The spirits of demigods forever serving a camp, even if it was in that little way is much better than the underworld.

Reyna led me to a quaint café that was almost full. People cleared the way for Reyna and we got to the front of the line in less than a minute and ordered a feast. We were both starving as we dug into the food that was presented. Being immortal and all did not mean that I could slack off on the warrior's diet. So, I had more of a healthier option of several salads and 3 slices of pizza. The food was an improvement over the Camp Half Blood food and most certainly a better set of options then scrambled eggs and toast.

Eating the food was a trivial matter and we both finished quickly. Not wanting to waste any more time Reyna brought me up to speed on the paperwork that I needed to fill out as a praetor. Obviously, there was a reason that leaders existed in the camp and it was mainly to train and maintain the legion. Since it was a Saturday the campers had off, but the day after tomorrow training would begin. Inside of the legion there were different cohorts. The leaders of the cohorts would submit training reports on how their soldiers were doing and expected us to give advice on how their soldiers could improve.

Most of the time they would run a set of drills during most of the weekdays, until Friday. On that day, it was War Games. A series of games that was like capture the flag where different cohorts would go up against each other. The current leader of the war games was the Fifth cohort led by Frank and Hazel. They had a huge lead over the second best which was the First cohort which was led by Octavian and Gwen. The rest were almost dead even.

Reyna finished her explanation as we walked back to our living quarters. It has been ages since I have felt this way about any girl. She was a magnet just pulling me toward her and asking me to spend as much time with her as possible. Inside the living space large pieces of paperwork was piled up and now was the time to do a normal job. Not that I was complaining. Reyna was next to me on the counter as we were filling out reports to send to the senate. This is where I learned a lot about the dynamic between people in New Rome very quickly.

Most of the soldiers did not want to lead at all. They are just teenagers after all. But the select few who wanted to advance further competed against each other to be the best. Some of the discipline reports that I looked at were of people breaking legs, ankles, arms, and fingers. Both people involved in the report were involved in trying to get to the top of the list for being chosen as Centurions. The more reports I looked at the more iterations of the pattern appeared.

Greed for power is a huge enemy to demi-gods and mortals alike. Wars would start to fill this endless void of lust, craving for only power. Now I knew why Octavian wanted to win so bad. He was hungry for power. I must have misjudged Nico when I saw him before, because clearly he must have lusted for power just as Octavian did. Was that why he fought Jason so many times? I know that Jason could not have been murdered by Nico, but that leaves the people that could possibly step up to Jason's power level. Dakota, Frank, Hazel, Octavian, Gwen, Paul, Sam, Elanor, and Adam. These were the only people who held the rank of Centurion at the time of the murder.

By the time we finished the rest of the reports I could cross Gwen, Frank, and Hazel off my list of suspects because they were on a quest the day of the murder. That left still a lot of people who could have simply come in and murdered Jason. One thing is for certain though. He could have been killed by anyone with any strength level, Since, he was murdered with a weapon in an area that is off limit to weapon use.

I looked outside the window to see it growing dark outside. Looking to Reyna as she was putting the finishing touches on some reports I could tell her hands were shaking while she was writing. "Hey, looks like you need to take a break. Go on to bed and I will finish what you were doing" She took the words with little complaint and hopped off the stool and walked to her bedroom. Continuing to finish the work she started I noticed that her reports were a lot darker than mine. Too many people were poisoned, stabbed, or killed.

Maybe Jason was just one of the unlucky ones that did not manage to survive such an attack, but none of these reports ever mentioned an attack happening in a weapon restricted zone. Something about this attack was different then all the other acts of competition. If Jason was attacked with a weapon this person was going for the kill. Not looking for a simple wounding shot to take him out of his position.

I finished the rest and packaged them up to be delivered to the senate in the morning. Completing at least part of my objectives for the day I was more than ready to settle down for some sleep. I walked over to my bedroom and folded my clothes up and put them in an orderly fashion in a laundry hamper that appeared. Not only that, but there was a plethora of jeans and t-shirts my size that appeared in the containers around the room.

Slipping into the covers and ready for another bought of sleep, I closed my eyes and waited for the nightmares to come. It was not three minutes later that Reyna knocked on my door. Her eyes filled with tears, she did not care that she was wearing just her undergarments. I took that as a sign that this was not a social visit. She asked if she could stay the night. If I was to take care of her, I needed to show confidence that I would solve everything. Even though the last time I couldn't this was my second chance to make things right.

She slipped into bed and held on to me as I dried her tears and just tried my best to comfort her. There was nothing else that I could do, but hold on as she cried about the fact that Jason left her. She still saw him over and over scolding her playfully and haunting her dreams with a knife sticking out of his back. Late into the night she finally fell asleep. Soon after, I followed her.

No dreams greeted either of us during the night, but awkwardness did when we awoke realizing that neither of us wore many clothes to bed. I had to be confident. For her. Pushing myself to a regular routine I got up quickly and went through and took a cold shower before getting dressed and making the usual breakfast attire.

Reyna joined me not too long after for breakfast at the counter. Clearing off forms to make space for breakfast filled the gap in time between our arrivals at the counter. We talked for a while over eggs. Favorite colors, places, and foods. She already knew about blue that I had with everything. Now it just served as a reminder of the death of the best mom in existence.

More to the point was that I got to know Reyna. More than her leadership persona that she put up to just lead the troops. She already knew my story and the terrible things that I had to feel, but when she told hers, my view changed. She was the Hero of Rome. Most of what she did was just simply lead the troops around, but not only that she could lend every single person her strength. A gift from her mother, Bellona the war goddess. Every little pain that was inflicted on her troops she would take. She was their shield.

After her side of the war was over, much like Percy she was granted a gift. She was granted the "gift" to lead Rome forevermore. An immortal like me. A greedy thought stole into my mind. She can never be taken away from me. My rational mind butted in and I knew I did not possess her at all. She may like me and I may like her, but Rome is the only thing that owns Reyna.

Even after all that Jason declared that he did not want immortality. He did want to die, so he asked for New Rome to remain prosperous for the duration of his life. Clearly he was not familiar with the workings of this world. The fact that he died so quickly means that someone clearly did not want New Rome to prosper.

After she finished I hugged her. No matter what, I will find this killer I thought. Revenge is one of the few comforts that I can get in this world. Collecting the dishes and washing them consumed the next few minutes. Then I informed Reyna I would be exploring a bit of New Rome and she gave an idle threat saying that I better have fun. Yes, catching a killer would be great fun. At least I knew that I was not in any sort of danger.

Now I had many options. Exploring the Forum was a must, but I needed to wait until nightfall for that so that I would not be seen. Otherwise I could go back to the arena or see the Senate house. Having surrendered my weapon a while ago I could approach the senate house without too much worry. With a solidified decision, I walked towards the marble structure.

The senate house was grand. Parts of the interior held the same spirit lights that had decorated the forum. Otherwise, the entire structure was completely smooth with no rough edges or damage. I knew from Annabeth's ramblings that the dimensions matched up with a cathedral 1:2:1 for the center aisle.

Steps to Order:

Step 3 – Identify your surroundings. Find where you need to be as soon as possible.

Closing my eyes, I could remember where the entrance and exit was to the main chamber and the senate house in general. This is not where I needed to be however. So, I walked around to the right of the main chamber finding an unfamiliar doorway. Its opening lead me to a long hallway with many books. Jackpot. The records room was exactly what I needed.

Who knew that I would be spending so much time going through old boxes full of random records? Everything in the hall was categorized by subject alphabetically. It was easy to find the death records. From there I went and found the case file involving Jason. The report was well done and gave a lot information to me.

First and foremost was the cause of death. He was stabbed in the back by a _Pila_ , but that was not his cause of death. Liver failure by an unidentifiable source. "The most likely scenario was that the weapon was coated in a venom of a monster". It makes sense that venom would be used rather than a poison. These days' poison is hard to get a hold of and must be made somehow. Most monsters have venom that they use to kill demigods all it takes is the death of said monster to get its spoils of war.

Other things that were listed on the report were details about the case in general. The murder weapon was never recovered and it was well after curfew when the murder took place. I sighed, at least I do have something to go on. Monster fights take place in the arena so all I would have to do is visit the arena and find those records.

Lunch was not on the menu for a man on a mission. My walk to the area was swift, but along the way I caught the eye of Octavian, who did not stop to give me a friendly hello. I wonder why? Before long I found myself taking the route to the equipment room again. Poking my head in the showers I checked to see if the bottle was there. Surprisingly, it was missing. This is no longer a casual race to find the killer. They are now removing evidence.

I removed my head from the showers only to find Hazel behind me giving me the weirdest look. My face flushed red as I explained that I thought I left something behind. She took the excuse and gave me a friendly challenge. "You hid behind your girl the last time Jackson. Would you fight me head on now?" I considered it, even though it would slow me down, maybe I could get her to talk a bit during the fight. "You are so on" I agreed.

"Five minutes and you may use your powers" she stated. I simply nodded. It does not change much. "I am still going to beat you." I taunted. "GO!" she yelled. We both leapt into action. I decided to go on the offensive and step with my left foot first. She expected me to do the same trick that Reyna used to get the better of her and blocked while stepping back.

We were in the center of the arena so she had plenty of space to go. I needed to end this fight without knocking her out, but the reach of her sword at this distance gave me the disadvantage. I moved my right foot forward this time ducking into a roll. Unfortunately, she used this time to reveal her power. I rolled directly into a hole in the arena. It looked like the remains of a collapsed tunnel, but I did not have time to focus on that because I was laying on the ground. I rolled to the side just in time to miss her attempt to jump on me. She remained off balance as the jump put her in a bad position. Quickly rising to her feet, I knew I did not have much time, so I used my power over water to control her sweat.

She could not move at all. It was an unpleasant experience for sure, but it allowed me to causally walk over to her and put my sword at her throat. For the second time, she opened another tunnel beneath my feet and let me drop. I fell into a long and dark corridor. I landed on the ground and used my sword to direct the sunlight down the tunnel. It seemed to go on for quite some time.

I released the control I had over my opponent. "Hazel, besides the fact that our time is up, could you come down here?" She obliged and dropped herself down. "Got a match?" I asked. She shook her head, but replied smiling "Even better". Before summoning a torch. "I was given this on my most recent quest by the Goddess of Magic. A handy tool to be sure". I only nodded. These Romans are all full of surprises.

We followed the tunnel with Hazel at the lead. Underground I had no idea about where I was. I of course blame Hades for that nonsense. Thankfully, Hazel knew exactly where this was headed. "We are right under the main part of the forum now" when she announced that I could by the look on her face she was nervous that she found something related to Jason's death. She was not a suspect, but I still felt suspicious none the less.

The tunnel seemed to go on for a very long time and I had the pleasure of tripping on something along the way. A green bottle, this time intact. The label read "Pit scorpion venom". Well, that answers the question about what venom was used. My job is now quite simple. I confront the remaining pool of suspects on the things that I have found. Pocketing the venom, we moved forward.

"Hazel stop for a moment. I can feel water above us. Isn't a huge source of water, but I think I can use it to make a hole in the tunnel for us to get out." She nodded and stepped back. My power flared and the water pushed through the ground and grabbed both me and Hazel as I directed it. We both lifted directly up to the surface.

The familiar streets of the Forum surrounded us. We were right in the crime scene. Before Hazel realized it, I grabbed every little detail that I could. He was stabbed in the back. There was a piece of the _pila_ lodged in Jason's body. It was just a small part, but it had the roman numeral I.

This evidence is way too obvious, but I do know that on Monday I will be doing an equipment check. My vision was turning red. Before I jump to conclusions there is one thing I need to do. Getting back to the arena and find the monster record book.

"Let us get out of here Hazel" she was very happy to leave. I could not blame her. We jumped down the hole and she sealed it up. We walked all the way back to the arena. By that time the sun was dimming on the horizon. I shook hands with Hazel and we both went our separate ways. I found the record book and quickly made my way through the list of monster fights. There was only one person who had fought pit scorpions. No matter what I have a sum of evidence to damn him. It's time to end this once and for all.


	5. Chapter 3: Death

Chapter 3

Sooner or later there comes a point of no return. Where one should take responsibility for their actions. I needed justice. Jason would be avenged, no question about it. Octavian was as good as dead. The only thing standing in the way is finding him. I took off sprinting for the Praetor's quarters. Rome at night was beautiful, travelling at a breakneck speed that is. With nobody around my path to the Fifth Cohort barracks was clear.

Not a second after my arrival the troops of the Fifth cohort were already lined up. Waiting for inspection. I made a mental note to give some sort of award to them for punctuality after making their leader paste. The perfect line of romans with proper equipment seemed to be missing Octavian. Calming breaths followed this unfortunate discovery. My rage was for Octavian alone. "Gwen, do you have any idea where your other centurion is?" I asked. "No Sir!".

Somehow, I knew that would be her response. Octavian was the kind to keep secrets. Though why would he escape? He wanted to be Praetor, even though there are two immortals now serving he always craved power. Escape should never be in the cards for him. Hell, he could laugh off a trial. In fact, he had no idea that I would be arriving tonight.

I had lost a battle with time. A battle as an immortal is ironic. Now I was set back big time. Too many thoughts were crowding my mind. So many places he could be. "Good work" I muttered. The Fifth let out a huge sigh as my slow pace took me out of the building.

The lights of New Rome cast very little shadows as I walked. The spirits contained within the lights were always in a competition to outshine one another. Their service was one of the reasons I wanted to kill Octavian. Service to Rome, not worship to its leaders. Maybe that was what Jason was missing. He always seemed to want to be remembered when I was just looking for a conclusion.

Aimlessly wandering took me where it always used to in Camp Half Blood. The arena was still in a good state. Even from the duel I had with Hazel. I stood in the middle of the arena when I heard a Pila headed in my direction. A good throw it hit me directly in the stomach. Instead of dying like a mortal would I laughed it off and called out to the stands "Good throw." Before turning around and looking Hazel dead in the eyes.

She was thoroughly surprised and disappointed. I pulled out the Pila easily and my regeneration covered the rest. A muffled scream with tears sounded behind her. Now it was my turn to be confused. "Who is your guest that you have there?" I asked. She put on the mask of innocence and said in the most sarcastic voice I had ever heard "Oh nobody, just a member of the Fifth Cohort, I caught him trying to escape." My body started to tremble. I knew who that was, though now I must save the sorry bastard.

My sword appeared in my hand. Moments later I was being surrounded by earth. Swallowed whole. My eyes were closed as I felt my power rising. Blue enveloped my vision, thought, and body. The earth shook as I ripped the earth around me to shreds. "Never will I be contained!" Hazel and Octavian were gone, but I knew they were leaving camp. So I ran to the fields of war.

In less than a minute I was at the fields of war and waited. Looking out into the night. I pointed the catapult in the general direction of the tunnel Hazel had made in the arena and shot myself straight over the arena and several hundred feet further. Note to self, do not fine yourself out of a catapult. It hurts. A lot. I did not land on my feet as I was dizzy as hell. After a lengthy recovery, I drove my sword into the ground. Breaking the earth in a line where I was standing. She would go no further.

They happened to be about one hundred feet in front of me. They both rose to ground level. Her sword was leveled at Octavian's neck. "Go ahead and kill him" I said. She raised an eyebrow at that and asked "Why would you let me do that?" she replied. "The only thing I have to do is kill Jason's murderer, not save anyone." While she pondered my response, I moved some water from the environment around us. Smirking her sword came down and cut his bindings off.

Octavian scurried off and left the adults to finish our business. "So, framing Octavian was all a matter of tunnels huh?" She simply nodded and moved into a fighting position. "Before I kill you, why did you kill Jason?" "Well Percy, Gaia wanted to stop the "Golden Age" of Rome. I was only too happy to help after she killed my mother and raised me from the dead."

It wasn't going to be a fight before we had that conversation, after that conversation I knew she was extremely dead. I summoned the water that was around us and lifted us into the air. My vision was blood red. We were incased in a hollow bubble of water. Tendrils of water formed form the sides of the bubble. Wrapping around Hazel's arms, legs, and neck.

A figure appeared in front of me it had black wings and he had a bare muscled chest. He nodded in my direction and I continued. First came her legs. Not spewing blood, since I held it inside her. She would feel all this pain that I felt. I pulled her arms off. Stopping the blood from flowing. Then I pushed all the water from the previous tendrils inside of her veins. She busted into pieces after that. Exploded from the pressure.

The figure only nodded like this was a simple day for him it seemed like. "Percy Jackson, you have completed a quest for the Gods and helped me recapture an escaped soul. I grant you the ability to bring back one soul from the dead." With that new piece of information, I passed out.

Waking up, I found that I was back in the Praetor's quarters. Seems like I always wake up in familiar standings. Reyna was above me and just like that I wanted to go back to sleep again. She was angry. Very angry. After she gave me a couple of bruises her anger turned to tears. Then calm. I had avenged her, saved the camp, and caused her a great deal of worry. Not in that order.

I remained in bed, letting her cry and get out her grief. Slowly, I came to smile, not because Reyna was in tears, but because for a while, I did not see Annabeth. Her mania did not follow me. I was not hurt about her anymore. That brought me to my next train of thought. Who should I revive? Could I start over with Annabeth. Likely not, she would have to go through the same thing that I did. The grief of losing the one guy she loved. The one guy I killed.

Reyna had fallen asleep in my bed. Still in full armor. She deserved some time off. So, did I. This week has been non-stop and the camp was not going anywhere. My eyes closed on their own accord. Sleep took me to a dreamless sleep. I felt Reyna before I saw her this time. She managed to take off her armor and lay it off to the side of the bed.

She was on top of me and seemed to be quite comfortable. Her breathing was uneven though. I whispered to her "Are you awake?". She nodded. By this time, I had no clue what day it was. Not that I cared in that moment I felt happy. For the first time in forever I was going somewhere with my life.

We laid there. Just taking in each other's company. Both of us had lost our lovers. She did not know all my pain. Losing people here was common, but not the entire camp. I would never let that happen. Our parallels had brought us together. For now, it would stay that way.

A groan sounded from in front of the bed. Both me and Reyna snapped upright. She reached for her sword, but I was faster. Riptide was still in my pocket. I quickly flipped Reyna under me and sprung forward. To point my sword towards the tattered form of Nico Di Angelo. 

His black shirt he wore the day I saw him stay with Hades (something I convinced him to do), was still on though mostly destroyed. His flesh under said clothes was covered in burn scars. Though he did not appear to be dead. With the groaning and such I would think he was probably alive. I guess that figure read my thoughts. Though I did not want him to appear in that very moment.

Nico slowly got up and I helped him. Reyna recognizing Nico from my backstory quickly rushed to get him a chair. He was still dizzy, so I cooked him my signature dish. In minutes, he had a plate of eggs and toast with a glass of water next to him. He did not speak as he ate. His movements were sluggish. Most likely due to his time being dead.

After he finished his meal I took his plate and used my powers to clean the plate as Reyna started to use her power to lend him strength enough to talk. He described the power of Tartarus. The horror of being hunted by monsters and unable to escape. Monsters eventually captured him and had him tortured. Dipping him into the various rivers of the dark pit.

Eventually, the monsters just left him to float in the river of fire. Until that is, a black angel came to rescue him. Picked up off the river and flown here. His tale ended there as he passed out. Reyna called a squad to carry him over to the Apollo cabin. Hopefully, they would speed his recovery enough to where I could tell him the result of the war. I know he would be glad that we won, but now he would have to face the grief I did before.

Reyna's stomach growled cut through the silence that had enveloped the room. I was probably hungry as well, so I grabbed the pan and made more batches of scrambled eggs as she sat at the counter. Finding a newly revived person on the floor certainly pushed a weird set of emotions. As I cooked I informed her about the death of Hazel and the ins and outs of my investigation.

In the concluding statements, she smiled as I described the details of Hazel's death. I grinned as well, she can certainly stomach some gore. Food was served and just like that, the mood improved. Now, she was at peace. Like me the grief was not gone, just slowed. This was not the end to our recovery, but the beginning of something together. Our hands were together as a squad of soldiers lined up at the door, calling for our arrest.

 **Authors Note:**

I have completed most of the druastic edit that I wanted to do this story. There is still a lot of ground I have to cover with the second Chapter of this story. The next update will likely be the re-edit of Chapter 2. After that I am only planning on updating when I have completed the story. Updates will come once a week upon story completion. Number of chapters expected is around 30. They should be around 10k each if I have done my math correctly.

 **Thanks,**

 **\- Ven**


	6. Chapter 4: Begin

**A/N:** So, I decided to keep the "short chapter" format for now. It seems the only thing that I can sustain over a long period of time. I do have the next chapter close to ready, but it still needs a bit of a rework. Please let me know what you think of this story so far.

-Venator Terram

Chapter 4: Begin

The soldiers stormed our quarters. One look and you could tell they knew something was wrong with this. Each of them held their heads down in shame. Perhaps they had also heard how many pieces Hazel's body was found in. Reyna was cuffed first. Her rage could be felt by those in proximity. The arresting officer made no sudden movements to prevent aggression. She turned to the arresting officer and said "Officer, I order you to tell me who sent for our arrest". The soldier shifted his weight from left to right nervously. "Octavian ma'am".

Was I at all surprised to learn Octavian had backstabbed us? Not in the slightest. His thirst for power was insatiable. The officer that had cuffed Reyna started to move towards me. I shook my head and stated "Don't bother". He ignored my statement and walked behind me. "Sorry sir, it is just procedure". I sighed as I put my hands in front of me. He put the cuffs on lightly and did not even bother to tighten them. I faked a stretch as I broke the cuffs. They broke easily and their remains fell to the floor.

The entire group of guards left our quarters with Reyna and I in tow. We walked the smooth stone path most of the way to the _Principia_. The silent walk left me thinking about our immediate future. "Reyna, why are we headed to the _Principia,_ isn't the Senate Building where trials occur?" She nodded her head. "Octavian is probably skipping the trial. Most likely he is sitting the Praetor's chair, just waiting for us."

After I saved his miserable life from Hazel, he still made a grab for power. What a moron. As the stones passed by under my feet, my thoughts drifted to the adventures that I had this week. How my anger had caused merciless death and destruction. Everything around me had been changed. Anger a loose cannon inside me. Perhaps if I had better control over my emotions, then this situation would not be happening.

 _She_ appeared to my right. Walking causally alongside us. Annabeth leaned her head on my shoulder and whispered in my ear. "Hazel looked like she had so much fun playing with you! I would love for you to chop me up into hamburger too!" She giggled. A cold sweat broke free from my pours. Why must she return? Why? No. Not again! Tears formed in my eyes. Blurring my vision.

The shaking started with my legs and arms. Uncontrollably shaking. My body was out of my control now. My breathing got more rapid. I could not feel my face. I couldn't believe the shame I was feeling. After so much progress was made I was falling again. Reyna took my hand and called for the guards to stop. My vision and hearing started to blur even more. Annabeth's giggle turned into a full-blown laugh. Somehow, I knew she was laughing at my pain and suffering. My knees gave out. Reyna held on to me, telling me it would be alright. It was too late. I was already back in time.

It was a cool night. A thick layer of fog drifted through the streets of Manhattan. Selina was running down the street frantically. She was out of breath. Shaking. Broken. Stone statues littered the street. Each covered in tattered armor. Faces of terror frozen permanently. Their faces matched my step-father. Gabe. Stone cold. Selina was in front of me. I looked her dead in the eyes as her face started to slowly turn into stone. Her scream pierced the small veil of silence that had fallen over that street. First, her face just looked cold, then slowly it crept to a deathly grey. I whipped around and cut off Medusa's head. It was too late to save her. The stone head of Selina crumbled. Her body remained flesh and blood. Neck spewing massive amounts of blood onto the pavement as one of my few remaining friends had just died.

My senses slowly came back to me as I regained consciousness. The sweet scent of roses filled my nose. I could feel a radiating warmth entangled within my limbs. Gradually my eyes began to open to the sight of stars in the sky. Looking down I saw an even better sight. No star could even come close. Reyna was sleeping on my chest. Her arms surrounded me, trapping me in her embrace. I closed my eyes briefly, sending a prayer to Aphrodite and Athena for showing me the way to her.

Not once did I even think about moving. Unfortunately, she stirred awake at my change in breathing. Her eyes opened quickly. She began to inspect me, checking to see if I was okay. It was clear I had recovered from my attack. Her arms untangled from me as she rose higher above me. I smiled at her and she returned the look. Happiness was sparse nowadays, thank the gods we were happy together. Still smiling, her hand sped through the air smacking me across the face.

" _Never_ do that again!" The slap did hurt, but I could not contain my rising laughter. "I am sorry my dear. Unfortunately, this type of thing happens a lot. I will do my best." She wore a sarcastic frown. "Excuses! Excuses!". Then my view of the world contracted again. For a much better reason. She leaned down and kissed me. I returned the kiss. Thought it did not last long. Grinning kind of makes it difficult to continue.

We got up eventually (after a few more tries). I immediately noticed the absence of the guards. "Where did everyone go?" Reyna noted my puzzled expression and quickly gave the answer. "They decided to leave New Rome. Octavian's orders seemed to much of an affront to Roman values". Seems like some Romans held up to the old traditions. _Virtus_ a word that meant courage. A foundational part of Roman history started by the creators of Rome. These guards earned my respect.

We talked for a bit and then decided to confront Octavian. He did hold all the power now. Reyna's hand met mine as we walked towards the _Principia_ this time enjoying the very romantic air right before the dreadful confrontation. Reyna and I knew what was coming. Octavian had certain powers, even as temporary praetor. He would no doubt try something really stupid to stop us from ever attaining power here again. Our pace was even and calm as we entered the _Principia_. Hands glued together as our determination to help one another through this event turned into action.

As Reyna suspected earlier, Octavian was on the Praetor's chair. His snores were so loud they kept his honor guard from joining him in a restful sleep. The guard on his right hand looked at us and rolled his eyes. A small smile managed to escape from my straight face. It only took a small nudge to wake the sleeping praetor. Too bad, I would have paid a lot of money to wake him up my way. Octavian roused at a snails pace. When he realized that we were there he shot up out of his chair.

"Hi Octavian." I said. Not trying to let him know that I was angry as all Hades. Credit to Octavian he had the nerves to laugh at us. "Well, you all are finally here. I am not sure why it took so long or where my prisoner detail went, but now we can get to business." He walked over to the main table. Two sheets of paper were in front of him. "Since I can't have you killed I am banishing the both of you" he said it like this was just a normal occurrence. The killing of his legion for power. It was sickening.

Reyna had a death grip on my hand. If I was not immortal my hand would have been turned into paste. My power started to flow within my veins. Unlike the other times, I had to keep a straight face. Otherwise he would figure out I was up to something. He kept talking about how much of a grand praetor he would make. Maybe even be like his namesake the emperor Octavian. Water started to flow into the main room very slowly. Crawling up to Octavian's chair.

He would not be talking so happily for much longer. I was not planning on killing him. Though I really wanted to. The guards noticed what I was doing, but did not call out. Most of the way through his boring speech there was a nice layer of water on his chair. Now all he needed to do was sit down. Octavian finally shut up. It took a good ten minutes of boring speech, but he started to sit. Of course he did not check his chair. Nemesis would be happy with me. I smirked as he realized his mistake. I raised my right hand and made a fist.

His scream probably was heard by the entire camp. Reyna's smile was so bright it completely outshone the entire banishment. Her positivity kept me walking. Hades, its not like the Romans could have done anything to us. We were immortals now. Nobody can touch us. Besides, we had time before Octavian woke up. Being castrated is taxing.

Reyna was practically bouncing on our way back to get our stuff. "Why are you so happy?" I asked. She giggled, something I could never have imagined her doing and said "I get to spend the rest of time with you living a normal life." Her optimism was rivaling insanity. We gathered up what stuff we had and set out to our new life.

AUTHORS NOTE: If you wanted a happy ending, this is it. This story will contain no happy ending. Read on if you dare.

Gwen ran up behind us eager to catch up as we were leaving New Rome. "Hey guys wait up!" Reyna and I looked back and decided to wait for Gwen. After all, what is the start to a new journey without a goodbye. Her figure was hard to make out in the dark, but her hair stood out, indicating that it was her. Though there seemed to be a strange creature on her shoulder. As she got closer I could see the eyes. It was an owl. Why would Athena contact Gwen?

She was out of breath when she reached us. "Your train tickets praetor!" Gwen handed us a pair of tickets to Seattle. "Well, I will be damned, looks like you are living with me!" I had a sarcastic smile on my face as I looked at Reyna. She rolled her eyes and we turned our attention back to Gwen. "Thank you, legionnaire." Gwen saluted and turned and sprinted off into the darkness. Another good Roman.

The tickets were for a 4:00am train in the heart of San Francisco. We walked hand in hand. No fear of monsters or mortals. We were without a care in the world. The train ride was nothing special, we did manage to cuddle a lot along the way, much to my enjoyment. Once we got to the station there were a small amount of Romans in full blown armor just sitting on benches casually. Reyna grinned and drew her sword. "Ready to have some fun Percy?" A grin was plastered on my face. "You bet."

We snuck off the train. Blending in with the crowd. The first set were on the bench to the right of the train. Our steps were light as we silently approached the unsuspecting Romans. We both knew exactly what to do as we each chose a different target on the bench. They were playing _Myth and Magic_ the card game (haha no copyright infringement). In a single moment, our strikes were in unison. Even when I was with Annabeth our coordination was never this good. The two Romans on the bench were easily knocked out.

Their ornate armor was the _Pontifex Maximus_ style. Man, Octavian got busy fast. The rest of the Romans were just blind, we decided to leave them. A team of six was no match for us regardless. Without mortal money, we journeyed the hard way to my old apartment. The ghosts that followed me from Camp Half-Blood were certainly still there, however this time I had a not so secret weapon.

Our approach to the apartment was boring to say the least. Our hands full of baggage physical and emotional. It seemed leaving was easier than coming to the new home. Reyna lost her bubbly glee and now she was just optimistic. The stairs of my old apartment felt nostalgic. I recognized the bleak lighting and the questionable stains that lined a majority of the stairs. In no time at all, we arrived at the right floor. I went to open the door and realized I didn't have the key.

Gods no. This was going to be awkward. Reyna looked at me puzzled. "I seemed to have lost the key" I said. She shook her head in disappointment. I walked to Kinzie's door and took a deep breath. This was going to be a hell of a story. My fist felt like it was going through molasses. The sound of my knuckles hitting the door surprised me. What caught me even more off guard was the door opening immediately.

I stepped back as a hand flew right at my face. The blow connected with my cheek. I noticed a movement from behind me as Reyna moved faster than I have ever seen her before. She somehow managed to move around me and aimed a punch directly at Kinzie's face. There was a meaty sound followed by a crash as Kinzie collapsed to the ground. That interaction was exactly how I wanted that to go.

We moved her body to the bed and Reyna had insisted that I leave as she had to have a "girl talk" with Kinzie. It took an hour for Kinzie to wake up from the sucker punch that was delivered directly to her stomach. This was a surprise to me as I was unsure anything except a Titan or God could survive that kind of punishment. During that time, I had explained that Kinzie was probably the only person who had a key to my apartment. The landlord to the apartment was more magical than me as they were gone pretty much all day every day.

I heard a crashing in the bedroom as Kinzie woke up. Why else would there be a crashing sound? It sounded like a battle happened. Then Reyna walked out of the room holding a key and smiling. My instincts told me not to question this odd chain of events. Reyna extended her arm to hand me the key. I grabbed her arm and pushed her hand back around the key. "You hold the keys to the kingdom now" I whispered to her. She stepped forward and had to go on her tiptoes to kiss me. I kissed back, but we were rudely interrupted by Kinzie exiting her bedroom.

"Alright love birds, get out of my apartment". We obliged only after Reyna shot her a look. To be fair we were making out in her apartment. Reyna approached the door with no hesitation. She put the key in the lock and pushed the door open and almost immediately stepped back. "Percy, why does this look exactly the same as the Praetor's quarters?". I was not sure myself, but I did have a theory forming. "I think it was prophesized that I would become the Roman Praetor, at least for a while. Before I got to New Rome the Gods must have altered the apartment to look the same."

Reyna continued to walk around the apartment inspecting every element she could. After the impromptu inspection, she placed her stuff in my bedroom. "I hope you don't mind Jackson, I will be joining you in bed tonight." I smiled and made my retort "Only if you want me there". We both burst out laughing.

With the ice broken we sat down and started to talk for a bit. After all, we met only a couple of days ago, there was a lot to talk about. During our talk, it was almost like we had an agreement not to talk about our darker past. We focused only on the little things. Favorite color, how I learned to cook what little I could, favorite cold drink, what jobs we had worked. The conversation had this natural flow that I have not felt in months. I could almost feel a little piece of me get put back together. Not to say I was the master of conversation, but participating wasn't something I was really used to.

After the initial morning talk we both decided that it would be good not to continue talking. We did have the rest of time itself to get to know each other. A small break helped to generate new ideas for conversations. The apartment was small and Reyna went through each space in detail as I was relaxing with a mug of tea on the counter. Sunlight was shining through the window, making the white walls have more texture.

I proceeded to the bedroom after my tea was consumed. I wanted to honor the gods for everything that they have done so far. Athena and Aphrodite truly blessed me with true gifts. Sitting on the bed I closed my eyes and prayed to the gods. Warm feelings flowed through my body. Granting me a semblance of peace. Something was quite off however, there was a steady beeping sounding from outside.

Slowly, I rose from my sitting position and opened my eyes. Reyna was looking out the window with a scowl on her face. "Just when we were having a peaceful afternoon". Her tone led me to believe that something was off outside. Instead of looking, I closed my eyes and listened. My skin started to crawl, and turn cold from a deathly presence. Soft footfalls accompanied a swift knock on the door. I walked calmly to the door to the son of Hades.

Nico was out of breath from the trek up the stairs. "What brings you here Nico?" I asked. He shook his head. "No time to explain, but I need you to help with the legionaries down stairs". I looked to Reyna and she met my glance with a smile. "Let's do this!"

Our steps were seamless, bounding towards the ground floor in no time at all. Shouts and battle cries could be heard from nearby. Exiting the stairwell allowed me direct line of sight to the fight. Roman legionaries were holding position forming a shield wall from inside the apartment. Those who were not in the wall were resting behind, ready to switch position with those who needed a break. Reyna started to take command as I made my way to the front. "Legion report!" With much surprise, Gwen appeared from the battle line and ran to Reyna.

"Centurion reporting!" she said. "What is your status soldier?" Gwen smiled "We have roughly 40 demigods who joined your cause and left New Rome. Most of us took a train to Seattle, however we may have attracted some attention from cyclops nearby." So instead of being with Octavian they wanted to join us. Fair enough I suppose. I moved to the front of the line and shouted "Make way!" The Roman line parted enough for me to squeeze into the front.

A cyclops club swung at my head. I rolled forward just in time to dodge the strike. The cyclops roared in anger and I smiled as Riptide appeared in my hand without me even remembering to draw it. The first cyclops did not even stand a chance. After its missed swing, it was off balance. I stepped forward and inserted my sword directly through its skull. Dust coated my sword.

Each of the other cyclopes took a step back as they each felt my deadly aura start to pick up. Only five cyclops remained. Though there was a slightly bigger problem. Monsters from around the city were popping up around the apartment. More cyclops appeared as well as quite a few hell hounds. This was a bad place to be for the Roman legion. Of course, I could fight and most likely kill all the monsters, but they would soon be many more looking for demigod blood and I could not be everywhere at once.

An owl appeared in the sky hurling down towards me in a daring dive. I held my arm out. It contained a very familiar looking letter. I opened it up without hesitation. The cyclops were starting to advance again. There was only one sentence in the letter. It matched the sign I saw so long ago.

 _Welcome to Camp Half-Blood_


	7. Chapter 5: Found

I found her. My Reyna. This is goodbye for now.


End file.
